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Non-monetary benefit indicators for prioritizing wetlands restoration projects
Citation:
Bousquin, J., M. Mazzotta, K. Hychka, W. Berry, AND C. Druschke. Non-monetary benefit indicators for prioritizing wetlands restoration projects. Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS), Corpus Christi, TX, May 31 - June 04, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
We demonstrate the general approach to using non-monetary benefit indicators with an application to urban wetlands restoration sites in the Woonasquatucket Watershed in Rhode Island, USA.
Description:
Ecological restoration of wetlands can reestablish ecosystem services that provide valuable social and environmental benefits. Explicitly characterizing these benefits can help managers better allocate scarce resources among potential restoration projects. Economic valuation studies monetize the value of wetlands, but such studies are often too resource intensive for the type of localized decisions that need to be made and it is not possible to monetize all benefits.We present a rapid assessment approach that provides non-monetary metrics, using benefit indicators, to compare benefits of restoring different wetland sites. These benefit indicators are based on economic concepts and reflect the factors that contribute to economic value, including the extent of market (which determines the number of people who benefit), available substitutes, and preferences of those who benefit. We designed these benefit indicators to complement existing functional indicators, in order to provide a more complete picture of both supply and demand for potential restored ecosystem services.We demonstrate the general approach to using non-monetary benefit indicators with an application to urban wetlands restoration sites in the Woonasquatucket Watershed in Rhode Island, USA. The specific benefit indicators used are transferable to similar urbanizing watersheds. With adjustments, the approach is transferable to additional ecosystem services.